Posts by MIKHALITSYN.

Mike, unfortunately, hadn't been there to support his friend when he'd stepped down from his position as polaris. Rather, he'd been doing his hibernating as he often did, hiding away in his own cottage for months at a time snoozing away and only waking up in the middle of the night to eat, and drink, and do the necessary things a living creature needed to do. And frankly it had come as a shock to him when he learned Spiritline of all animals was leader. He didn't doubt the fox's capabilities but it was still a somewhat questionable decision with how childish and immature he knew the fox could be. Nevertheless, he'd been happy for his little friend, and now he was stepping down too. It seemed that perhaps the cycle of short-term leaders was returning.

But how important was that really when Mike's dark chocolate eyes narrowed upon spotting the penumbra. Lips peeling backwards into a lazy, jagged grin the wolf approached, head lowered to look Amara in the face. "Look at you, uh, alive and kicking," he teased easily. Of course he didn't know Amara's current situation, rather problem, had he maybe he would've been a bit more reluctant to approach. "Good to see you."

Ever since finding out that Debiru was gone, missing somewhere, Mike had been nothing but concerned. Of course there was never a time it was visible across the tired face of the wolf and never very plain to see in dark brown eyes as he did his rounds and did the tasks he was given. Hiding thoughts and feelings always did come naturally for the wolf, but that would never keep him from worrying over his clanmates. They were his friends, perhaps a bit distant by him unconsciously making a wall between himslf and them, but they were his friends and he'd do anything for them. It was only natural to be concerned, muted and watered down as the feeling might've been within him.

Lips curling into an almost wobbly smile he covered it up with a smirk as he slide up alongside the husky, cinnamon gaze giving the returning hound a quick onceover, searching for injuries without invading Debiru's personal space. "Glad you're back, we were worried," he spoke somewhat softly, nose wiggling as he inhaled the scent of the Cartel, not a clan he was exceptionally familiar with. A clan they were working on a trial alliance with he believed. "You okay? No cuts or bruises or, uh, anything right?"

Of course Mike was concerned about Barghest, they were friends, but he knew that Barghest was also a tough man. So although it did make him frown somewhat to see the recently injured angelhound out and about he was sure that Barghest knew his limits and knew what he could and couldn't handle. He wasn't the councilman's caretaker, he had Mulder for that. Lips curling into a lazy smile as he shuffled over the wolf woofed out, "Hit me, man."

Heat didn't bother him much and neither did cold weather. But when it was hot out and he was surrounded by people he was a little bit bothered. It wasn't even the heat, it was just the people that surrounded him. Being as tall as he was the only thing that really bothered him was when people would exhale on his arms or hands whenever they would have to brush past him and get through the crowd. It was gross, and annoying, and rude, and as much as he enjoyed getting out and about it was these sorts of things that made him prefer his permanently air conditioned apartment where he could sleep all day. At least till he would have to go to work.

But right now he was just trying to enjoy this. And he'd begun to when he spotted a sort-of friend of his waiting in line. Grinning down at her as he ignored the hands tossed in the air and the groans of those in line behind them he greeted, "Hey, pretty lady."

For as long as he had been here he didn't think he'd ever seen this done. He was bored and he wanted something to do, and this was it. The idea just sprung from him wanting to flirt with someone right now, maybe convince someone into his bed later tonight if they were up for it after hearing his honeyed words and smooth compliments. Or he was just in the mood to make someone feel good about themselves today. Either way, he was looking to make someone happy.

With a loud yawn the wolf would lean backwards onto a mound of snow he'd formed just moments ago in the blink of an eye, beside him was a sign reading 'compliment booth'. It was less so a booth rather than just the wolf lounging in the middle of the territory. Nevertheless it did get the point across and with closed eyes the drowsy mutt would wait for his clanmates to approach.

He hadn't been there, unfortunately, but after hearing about Barghest's injuries he was natrually concerned about his friend. It seemed concern was all he'd been able to feel as of late what with Debiru going missing and now Barghest being injured. Of course the former was back now and he was fine and healthy, he wished that much could be said for the councilman. And so it was out of friendship and concern that he had to visit his clanmate. Frowning somewhat as he slid up beside Drusilla, taking in the sight and scent of the burning meal he'd turn towards Barghest with a lazily furrowed brow. He hoped he wouldn't have to pull the food from the fire and shove it down the angelhound's throat just to make him eat. That wouldn't be very fun for either party.

"Good to see you're alive," he greeted with an easy smile pulling at dark lips, gently brushing his shoulder against Drusilla's in greeting. He was tempted to go get Aphy just in case Barghest needed her, but opted not to. Didn't want to make the infirmiry anymore crowded. Speaking of which he wanted to get out of here. He didn't think that it was made for visitors and it'd be better if there was more room for Aphy to work.

He wasn't the smartest dog around, he'd admit to it. And he didn't know when a prank was being set up. He also really wasn't a sweets guy and in his two years of living he didn't think he'd ever had a cookie before. Or maybe he had and couldn't remember. Whatever it was he could barely tell the difference between the real cookies and the fake ones and thus with a shrug took one of the prank cookies. Taking a bite he'd chew on it naturally as if it were a real cookie, hardly paying any mind to whatever was wrong with it. Although it did take some time he did finally notice that something was off about it. "This burnt?"

He wasn't exactly proud of it himself, but Mike knew what it felt like to kill sentient and non-sentient animals. He'd done a lot of shameful things in his life and murder was one of them. But it toughened him up and it was the reason he wasn't as panicky as the others were in this moment. Cinnamon eyes were simply tired as he slid over, a frown pulling at his lips as he listened to the words of his clanmates, watching for a moment as Sylvi attempted to bring the corpse back to life.

"Sylvi," he spoke firmly, a solemn tone to his usual sleepy voice. "Go home and rest. Haneul, you too." he may not have been a high position anymore but he still held a slightly commanding tone to his words, their best interest in mind as they seemed to be reacting to this the most harsly. At least Artemy was keeping a level head. "Yea, we bury them," he'd finally answer the musk deer, lowering his nose to the corpses to see if there was anything, any kind of scent, even a faint one. Unluckily, there was nothing, nothing but the stark scent of blood and flesh and the sight of organs and a mess of bodies to be seen. And strangely enough not an ounce of blood to be seen in the bodies aside from the few droplets upon the ground. It was a mess, but a meticulous one. Whoever did this likely wouldn't be found. Not today at least.

With all that had been happening lately, Mike kept an unsurprisingly cool head. Never one to get worked up over the little things, or the big things like the pile of bodies found in the forest, or his friend getting injured. Things just happened in his mind and there was nothing worth getting aggravated over. Although he couldn't say the same for his clanmates. Sliding his tall form up alongside his clanmates he'd offer the pair a concerned sideways glance. He hoped that they knew they could come to him if they needed someone to talk to or were feeling scared. He really wasn't a super emotional guy when he had muted and dulled ones like a stone softened by water, but he still felt some things. Just distantly and weakly.

Fictitious brow lifting somewhat as Haneul jumped right into it, not wasting a second to ask the usual 'name and business' spiel, assuming the winged stranger would be joining them the wolf only shrugged to himself. "Uh, what's your name?" Questioned the hound.

Eyes squeezing open barely at the sound of footsteps and voices he'd slowly lift his head, facing the trio with a lazy smirk pulling at his lips. That was fast, faster than he'd andticipated, but everyone liked a compliment so he wouldn't judge them. He wasn't really the type to do that anyway. Heaving himself upright so he could see them all better he'd nod towards Haneul. "Oh, cool, 'm Mike." He would spare the small dancing fox the embarrassment of correcting him, reminding him that they had met before. Mike remembered seeing the little dancer do some flips and twists or something like that, the memory was a bit blurry after all it was before he'd gone to hibernate. "You know, you're a pretty good dancer." His words were spoken slowly, a flirtatious smirk pulling at his lips, they were genuinely spoken but he never could help himself. "Maybe you could show me something sometime, maybe in private?"

Gaze turning onto the pretty shape of Sylvi he grinned widely as he could be bothered. "Compliment booth. I'll make you feel good about yourself, but I could do that everyday if you'd let me." Eyeing her up with a tired gaze he thought for a moment. There were so many things about her that he could compliment. She seemed to need a real compliment, not just more flirting. Sitting up straight, brown eyes locking onto her own. "You're kind, and selfless, and everything you do for this clan is appreciated." Whatever serious look that had crossed cinnamon eyes was gone as fast as it had been there. Whatever person he could be, a genuine and honest person, it wasn't there often.

Looking towards Barghest as the councilman approached, he found himself licking his teeth trying to think of a compliment. He couldn't, rather wouldn't, flirt with the angelhound. They were friends and he had Mulder. Even friendly flirting would feel strange coming off his tongue. "I love that shade of pink," he offered, lifting a paw and aiming to poke at one of the horns sprouting from the dog's head. "Really brings out your eyes."

Eyes widened by a fraction as Sylvi spun around and buried her face in the thick fur of his neck. His shoulders nearly stiffened at the touch, something about it almost uncomfortable. He was used to physical contact but not being trusted this much. He'd hugged and cuddled but this was something entirely different. Sylvi, in a moment of vulnerability, was clinging to him. Hesitant, slowly, he lowered his muzzle and pressed it softly into the top of her head, offering Haneul a tankful look as he coaxed the serval away from the scene. He didn't want to think this way but right now they didn't need animals around that couldn't handle the sight of death. "It'll be okay," he murmured to the pair as they left, cinnamon eyes trailing after them till they vanished and he returned his gaze to Artemy.

Continuing to listen to the musk deer he grunted softly in acknowledgement. Artemy lived an interesting life with some curious beliefs. It wasn't exactly important at the moment but maybe he'd ask the kid to tell him about it all sometime. "We don't do much here. Usually just bury them.. and then we're done with it." Speaking it out loud made it sound almost pathetic and cruel. Almost like they didn't care who died. Never once had he seen a real funeral held for anyone in the clan. Maybe they should change that. Maybe they should start making sure to remember those that died. With those words he'd get to work helping Artemy dig, his large paws and claws tossing up dirt with ease.

Reading the confusion within her eyes almost made him smile. Her not understanding his advances was almost cute. He didn't know if it would be better to let her know what he was thinking or not, maybe just because he wanted to keep that little confused light shimmering within pink lemonade eyes. Maybe because it made him feel like it didn't matter if he was flirting or not, they could still have a conversation. It almost made him want to drop the facade of a flirtatious hound, made him want to act like the genuinely kind hound that he was. Almost. "Yea, nature's nice and all, but, uh, sometimes there are prettier things to look at. Or rather prettier animals, like yourself."

Her next question caught him off guard, some kind of startled look flashing across dark eyes for a split second before a form of discomfort overtook him. What was attraction? Was he the right person to answer that question? No. He hardly understood it himself, in fact he barely felt it. Sexual attraction was one thing and romantic attraction was a whole different animal that he was so very unfamiliar with that it scared him. Commitment scared him. "Well," he paused, a weak attempt to gather his thoughts and figure out a way to explain things to her. "There's, uh, sexual and romantic and sexual is where you just wanna, uh, have sex. Romantic is, uh, .. when you love someone." Was she expecting him to explain what he felt towards her? That it was just sexual? That he wasn't just spewing empty words and wanted to be with her? Or was she just genuinely curious? What did he even feel?

"Oh, startled you, didn't I? My bad," he apologized easily, a genuine smile tugging at inky lips for a split second before collapsing into his usual empty smirk. Taking a seat beside the husky he watched with an amused smile as he took notice of the barely visible shade of pink that reached the husky's ears. Mike didn't want to think it was because he was here, but it was likely the compliment. He had the same reaction sometimes when he was complimented, he was just far better at hiding it, and he didn't get complimented too often. Sienna eyes lowering towards the notebook he scanned the words quickly, his nose wrinkling in amusement. "Yea, they're smart, huh," he agreed softly. They were probably the two smartest animals he'd ever met. Of course he was just going off all the ideas and advice they'd given the clan so far since they're joining.

The next time the husky flipped the notebook towards him got fictitious brows shooting up on his forehead. Deb wanted to draw him? Something like discomfort welled up within him. He didn't know how to respond. Of course he would let the husky draw him but.. it felt odd. He was usually the one doing the complimenting and the flirting and the trying to make his clanmates feel good about themselves. He was usually the one doing lazy doodles of them to try and get a chuckle out of them, the one making dumb jokes just to see if he could get them to laugh. And they were all nice in return, but who ever returned the favor? Who ever looked out for him like he did them? Had anyone ever thanked him for anything? He knew Deb had claimed it was because his poor memory, but Mike liked thinking that maybe it was one of the first acts of kindness he'd ever receive.

"Oh, uh, yea, sure," he answered quickly after realizing his prolonged silence. "But you can draw me anytime, especially in a more private setting." He was quick to return to his usual flirtatious self, tagging on a wink with his honeyed words.

A lot had changed since Mike woke up from his hibernation. There were more changes to the clan and everyone's lives in these past few weeks than there were in the first few months since he'd begun putting himself more out there. It seemed like all the interesting stuff happened when he was asleep. He didn't know if he was complaining about that or not, but either way, it was the honest truth. But even now when things were still tough and trying he knew that no matter what happened he wouldn't leave the clan. It was his home, he was dumped here as a pup and had nowhere else to go (and he was too lazy to go anywhere else). But there might've been one animal that set that more in stone for him. The one almost keeping him from leaving because she trusted him.

"Aphy?" Questioned the wolf through the door to her cottage. "You in?" He didn't know where else she'd be. Maybe out and about flaunting her new rank like a hefty piece of jewelry? No, she wasn't the type. She was too kind for that. She was everything that he wasn't. He almost envied her grace and charm that she was born with. Head thumping against the door in front of him at his thoughts he heaved a soft sigh. He hoped she came out soon, he didn't want to be left with his thoughts for much longer.

// aphrodite s. k.

Ever since witnessing how shook up Sylvi and Haneul had seemed when they stumbled across the trailing mess of corpses in the forest he was naturally worried about them. He didn't know if they were considered friends or not, but either way, Mike felt that it was almost his job to look out for his clanmates whether they wanted it or not. He had forgotten for a moment that not everyone was like him. Not everybody was a desensitized, hollow, unfeeling animal like himself. His clanmates felt things, they're feelings weren't suppressed and packed down into the dirt till they felt nothing. They were all nothing like him. And he felt dumb for forgetting.

Knocking his paw against the door of Haneul's hut the wolf woofed out, "Han? You there?" Maybe it was a bad idea to check on the less harshly affected first, but he'd rather give Sylvi time to process what exactly had happened.

// Haneul

Mike didn't think he was a worrywart. He still did like to think of himself as laidback and chill. But when one of his friends was injured and two of them were in a panic over a murder mystery then, yea, he was kind of worried. It seemed as though that was all he was doing much of lately. Trying not to gnaw through his tongue or cheek with all the anxious chewing he'd been doing. It was pissing him off. He'd never felt nervous or anxious of anything before but all of a sudden he was feeling like he was everyone's caretaker and it was directly his fault whenever someone found themselves in trouble. He was gonna lose all his hair like this. This was the most emotion he'd felt in a long time and he really hated it. By now he was just trying to play it off, pretending that he wasn't just as puzzled and concerned as the rest of his clanmates were. If they thought that he was calm about the whole situation then maybe more Coveners would follow his lead and feel the same?

With an almost shuddery exhale the hound slid into the infirmiry. He knew Barghest was free to walk around now but he knew that the angelhound still hung out here often what with his busted wing and the rest of his injuries. Pushing past the door with a slight curve to his lips he woofed out around the box held tightly in his wide jaws, "Hey, Bargh, I brought a puzzle."

// RADIOACTIVE

Mike didn't get embarrassed easily, he was like a stone, shameless and didn't really care about anything. But he was starting to wonder if she was just asking him all these questions just so she could listen to his smooth whiskey voice explain what sex was. Chuckling breathily at her questions, he'd look to the side, biting his tongue for a moment at her awkward toothy grin. He wondered just how long she'd lived in a temple with monks. Her whole life he supposed. But if she didn't know what sex was then where did the new monks come from? Did they go around stealing children? Whatever the answer, he wouldn't judge. He just didn't understand how Sylvi didn't know what sex or love were? They were the sort of things that were a mystery as a child but as an adult it was something one just knew. It was what animal's were born to do. Reproduce. It was instinctive.

Shaking his head he spoke, "Sex is where babies come from. He could've made so many comments, most of them along the lines of an example if she was up for it, but this felt like a serious matter. It was a bit like talking to a child now that he knew what she didn't.. and he was a bit uncomfortable. Maybe he would start holding off on his flirting for a bit. At least until she matured up and started acting like an adult. It felt wrong to flirt with her now like he had been. "It's when two consenting adults decide that they want to, er,... feel good. Sometimes it's for pleasure and sometimes it's to make babies. It's something you do when you and someone else trust, and respect, and care about each other." He really only had sex for pleasure, and often with strangers. But he was trying to instill some good ideals into her thick skull. He didn't want her to get hurt.

"Love is, uh, love is something else." Something else that he didn't understand at all. It was something he didn't really want to understand. Something he didn't want to touch with a thirty foot pole if he could help it. Whatever she was talking about, whatever feeling she was trying to explain was entirely lost on him. "I, uh,... don't know what you're feeling. And no, I'm not putting a curse on you," he deadpanned, trying to make this situation less awkward then it was, trying to make the air less thick with discomfort than it was.

There was almost a twist of relief within the recently emotion-swamped pit of his stomach as the voice of Aphy reached tall ears. It seemed after all this time she was one of the only constants, one of the few things that kept him grounded anymore. Staring down at her with empty sienna eyes as the door swung open, watching as she folded her wings tightly to her sides, her words barely processing in his mind but upon finally doing so he blanked. Why was he here? Because.. because why? "Er,... I don't know." He'd just chalk it all up to him wanting to see her. To congratulating her on finally making it to polaris, right at the top, where she deserved to be after all her hard work and dedication to the clan. "Can I come in?" He finally questioned.

Listening to the words of the strange feathered hybrid he couldn't help but allow his lips to peel back into a thin line, a faint furrow to his brow. He didn't expect everyone to be a kind person, he certainly wasn't perfect, but he at least expected a level of courtesy when it came to joining a clan, like giving a name. It was sort of a necessary thing. Shaking his head slightly the wolf decided he wouldn't complain. This guy, he'd call him Jim, Jim's business wasn't his business. He'd respect his privacy.

"Alright, Jim. I'm Mike, if you need anything just ask." Anything typically consisting of making ice when the weather was too hot or reaching something from the top of a shelf when animals with wings couldn't get it because it was indoors. But he was somewhat hoping that Jim would never need his help with anything, he seemed a little arrogant and like a poor excuse of company. But he could always be wrong, he'd love to be proven wrong, especially when it came to his very rare judgmental thoughts.

As far as he was aware a potluck was meant for those participating to bring their own food or drinks or what have you. And as far as he was aware he didn't have a favorite food that he could cook, or a favorite drink that he could bring. He usually just drank water from the shimmering lake for both amusement and hydration. He liked the way the water made his tongue glow and tingle, it was entertaining to be able to stick out his tongue and see it glowing in the edges of his vision. Sometimes he even dunked his paws in, or his whole head even when he was alone at night. He was immature and stupid but that didn't mean he actually wanted anyone to witness him being immature and stupid. But in the end the water from the shimmering lake was really all he drank, so he really didn't have anything to bring to make a drink out of. Instead he'd just hang out for the sake of hanging out.

Glancing towards Artemy with a fictitious brow quirked he exhaled a chuckle. "You lived an interesting life, you should tell us stories sometime," he comment towards the musk deer before turning sienna eyes back onto Noelle. "This is a cute little setup, good job."